IPR Forms, and why they’re important

May 1, 2017 BY Anna Depagter

Why do I have to fill out an IPR form for my music project?

We get it, filling out the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) form can seem tedious, and not fun at all, but we promise there is a good reason Copycats has you do it. As one would assume, piracy is a big issue within the recording industry, even more so now we’re in this era of digital music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has set up the IPR system to help battle the problem. If our customers don’t comply, the RIAA can file a (very expensive) lawsuit. Not only would that lawsuit affect you, the customer, it would also impact us, the manufacturer. We’re both liable, and nobody wants to owe the government any more money than we already do, right?

The RIAA watches over the interests of its members who are the musicians, record companies, and everyone else in the music industry. The IPR form helps the RIAA make sure they are collecting royalties for their members. So filling out the form demonstrates that you are the rightful owner of the materials that are on the CD or DVD you (the customer) are asking us (Copycats) to manufacture.

Are you still with me? Good.

So, what if you do all original music?

Easy! You just fill out the IPR form as usual, and say you are the owner of the media where applicable.

Or, what if you have cover songs on your project?

Then you’ll need licensing for all of the songs that are covers. Don’t worry though, you can get licensing through our friends at Easy Song Licensing. Click here for more information.

What if you are going to give your physical product away for free?

Unfortunately, you will still need licensing in order to distribute a song that someone else wrote.

TIPS ON FILLING OUT THE IPR FORM:

• Be sure to fill out all the track names in their entirety, we need to have a complete record of your project.

• The IPR form is a standalone form. It doesn’t affect the track order on your master, or on your artwork. It’s up to you to make sure the song order is correct on all of your materials.

At the end of the day, we want to make sure when you get your hit song, and people start covering it, you get paid. That’s what it’s all about!

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